Actor and comedian John Witherspoon, who was known for his comedic turns on shows such as black-ish, The Tracy Morgan Show and The Wayans Bros., as well as films like the Friday franchise, Dr. Doolittle 2 and Bulworth, died yesterday at the age of 77. After a loving statement from Witherspoon's family, which was posted to his personal Twitter page, confirmed his death, fans, and many of the celebrities he had worked with during his over 40 year career in film and TV, began to post tributes to the comic actor.
Rapper / actor Ice Cube was one of the first to post about John Witherspoon's death. Ice Cube, of course, starred in Friday and its sequels Next Friday and Friday After Next with Witherspoon, who played the father of his character in the franchise. Witherspoon was set to reprise his role in another upcoming sequel, Last Friday, but the film is in pre-production and hasn't begun filming yet. Here's the sweet and simple message Ice Cube posted:
Marlon Wayans, who also played John Withspoon's son, but on The Wayans Bros., which ran from 1995-1999 on The WB, has posted tributes to Witherspoon on his Instagram a few times since learning of his death. But, his first post in particular, is a wonderful remembrance of the man and what he's meant to him and his career. Take a look...
John Witherspoon's long career also included several gigs as a voice actor, and he is well-remembered for his work voicing Granddad on The Boondocks from 2005-2014. Oscar winner Regina King, who voiced Riley on the series and can currently be seen on Watchmen, took to Twitter to share her feelings on Witherspoon's passing:
Questlove, drummer and joint frontman for The Roots (which has served as Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show house band since 2014), reached out on Instagram to post a beautiful tribute to John Witherspoon which explains why the comedian struck a chord with so many fans...
Comedian, actor and former late night talk show host Arsenio Hall, who has signed on to reprise his role alongside Eddie Murphy in the planned sequel Coming 2 America, also had some lovely words to offer for his fellow comedic legend:
Oscar nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who's currently working on the Warner Bros. / DC comics film New Gods, also stepped up and added a very succinct thank you post for all the work John Witherspoon has done to her Twitter feed...
John Witherspoon, who most recently appeared in Black Jesus for Adult Swim as well as voicing a role in BoJack Horseman, is survived by his wife Angela and his sons, Alexander and JD. All of John Witherspoon's family and friends will be in our thoughts; he will be missed.
